John Marco, handsome despoiler of women, is found murdered on the beach of Spanish Cape. This piece of land and rock juts out into the Atlantic like some sleeping monster. It is owned by an eccentric millionaire, Walter Godfrey. At the time of Marco’s death a number of ill-assorted people are visiting at Spanish Cape. Marco seemed to have some kind of an evil hold over these desperate women. But strangely enough, of all the people gathered there, his was the only face that did not wear the tense mask of dread.

When Marco’s body was discovered, he was sitting naked in a chair on the beach. His corpse was completely naked with the exception of a long opera cape draped about him. Fortunately, Ellery Queen was vacationing nearby; and it is he, who steps in and solves this baffling murder.

Redbook, 4/35

9th in the Ellery Queen series. The 1st edition hardcover was published the same month as the complete novel’s inclusion in Redbook, 4/35. A film adaptation was released, also in 1935, starring Donald Cook.